Is a rebuild enough?

[Guest]

I was having starting issues, and I've begun the process of inspecting and repairing all of the electricals. When I got to the starter I found this burnt positive wire, so I removed the starter to inspect the brushes and armature.


IMG]

Tested the starter by hooking up to 12v power source and found that it turned pretty slow with a sligt grinding sound, then when I tapped it with a hammer the shaft Rpms tripled. Took apart the starter and found a really burnt smell but I'm not sure if this looks bad or not. I don't know what bad looks like but connections look good and brushes/commutator look OK (?) The surfaces feel smooth, so if sand them with emery cloth and install a rebuild kit am I good to go?

[tkent02]

Sand the commutator, new brushes if it needs them. Are there any burnt wires under that brown epoxy stuff? Check with a multimeter for opens or shorts in the windings? Check the bearings in either end of the starter. If they are still tight and smooth, throw it together and try it.

What's in the rebuild kit?

[cableguy]

The only damage I could find was the crack that's visible in the photo. You have to look close, but it's right on top and runs kind of diagonal. I'll look at the manual for how to test. Here's a shot of the brush assembly.

[tkent02]

Those brushes have plenty of meat on them still, are the springs behind the brushes strong enough to ensure good contact?

[cableguy]

I thought the brushes looked decent as well. I'll test the armature. Is there a special to clean it? Does heat affect the brush assembly? The wires look fine, but everything has soot on it and smells burnt. As I said before when I bench tested the starter it turned slowly at first, then when I tapped it with a hammer the rpms increased dramatically, like tripled. Seemed to work fine after that. My theory is that whatever was causing that heat (like the r/r wiring i just fixed) got the brushes stuck? Can that happen? Then my tap freed them and I'm all set? Boy that would nice.....

[cableguy]

Oh, and yes the springs are fine, and the bearing is smooth without noticeable sideplay